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Walking With DanteA passage-by-passage stroll through Dantes DIVINE COMEDY with Mark Scarbrough Author: Mark Scarbrough
Ever wanted to read Dante's Divine Comedy? Come along with us! We're not lost in the scholarly weeds. (Mostly.) We're strolling through the greatest work (to date) of Western literature. Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as I take on this masterpiece passage by passage. I'll give you my rough English translation, show you some of the interpretive knots in the lines, let you in on the 700 years of commentary, and connect Dante's work to our modern world. The pilgrim comes awake in a dark wood, then walks across the known universe. New episodes every Sunday and Wednesday. Language: en Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Of Brooks, Solitary Ladies, and Layered Meanings: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, Lines 22 - 42
Episode 217
Wednesday, 19 November, 2025
Our pilgrim continues walking through the old-growth forest, so dark that very little light can get into its cooling shade.He is eventually blocked by two seemingly small things: a little brook flowing to the left and a solitary lady across the way, singing and picking flowers.But the poet Dante gives us hints that all is already not what it seems.Join me, Mark Scarbrough, as we continue our journey across the top of Mount Purgatory . . . and notice that meaning is becoming layered over the naturalist details our pilgrim innocently notices.If you'd like to help cover the fees for this podcast with a one-time donation or a small monthly stipend, you can do so at this PayPal link right here.Here are the segments for this episode of WALKING WITH DANTE:[01:07] My English translation of PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 42. If you'd like to read along or continue the conversation with me by dropping a comment about this episode, please do so on my website: markscarbrough.com.[03:03] A glance back to the start of the canto . . . and a glance back to the start of INFERNO.[05:59] More repeated words in the poetry.[07:31] Naturalistic details and the initial layering of metaphysical, moral, or allegorical meaning.[16:30] No geographical understanding of this place (yet) . . . but a literary understanding of it: pastoral poetry.[22:48] The unnamed, solitary lady as an interpretive trap.[24:57] Rereading the passage: PURGATORIO, Canto XXVIII, lines 22 - 42.
